Firefox for AndroidRelease Notes

Take your Firefox anywhere. Firefox for Android is
built on the same technology platform as Firefox for desktop computers, just
optimized for browsing on a mobile device. Check out the new
and improved features, known issues, and frequently-asked questions.

What's New with Add-ons

There are now over 160 add-ons for Firefox for mobile, and counting. Nearly 100 add-ons are already compatible with our latest browser version. Thanks to our awesome community, the number of exciting compatible add-ons increases constantly.

What's New for Developers

Now is the time to extend your reach and build a new awesome add-on, or to make your mobile add-ons compatible with Firefox for Android. Find all the tools and resources you need on the Mozilla Developer Network.

For Developers

Firefox is an easy and open development platform to build fast,
powerful and beautiful mobile web apps and add-ons. Use the latest web
technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript to innovate faster, more
easily and extend your reach. You can build great sites and apps by
tapping into the device capabilities of the phone, as well as create
game changing add-ons. Visit the Mozilla Developer
Network to learn more about how you
can build and showcase your innovations on millions of devices.

Build Add-ons for Mobile

Although Firefox for the desktop and mobile are built on the same
technology platform, there are differences that will require
developers to make changes to their add-ons in order to become
compatible with Firefox for Android.

Downloading

Developers

Developers can download a version of Firefox for mobile to their desktop in order to test, provide feedback, and build add-ons. Desktop builds are for development purposes only and don't have full functionality:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firefox available for my phone?

Firefox is available for Android (2.0 or higher) phones with compatible hardware, and
for the Nokia N900. See the Supported Devices page to
see if Firefox is compatible with your Android device. You can
download Firefox for Android and for
the Nokia N900 at firefox.com/m.
If Firefox for mobile is not available for your device or platform, we're continuing to investigate ways to bring parts of the Firefox experience to you.
Learn more about our mobile projects.

Is it called Fennec or Firefox?

Fennec is the codename of Mozilla’s mobile project, however the
official product name is Firefox.

How will Firefox keep me safe while I browse on my mobile?

Mozilla’s open source process leverages the experience of
thousands of security experts around the globe,
and Firefox includes features like HTTP Strict Transport Security, which lets Firefox work together with web site authors to protect you against eavesdropping and web forgery. Customizable security settings to
manage passwords, cookies, loading images and installing
add-ons give you complete control over your browsing experience.
Learn more.

How do I use the Firefox user interface to browse the Web?

To save space on your phone’s display, Firefox browser
controls are stowed away to the sides of the screen. Swipe
right to access your tabs on the left side of the screen.
Swipe left to view one-touch bookmarking, back and forward,
and access your browser tools. To let you see more of the Web
site, your browser controls and Awesome Bar get stowed away
out of view. when you scroll down a Web page, but they
instantly reappear if you pan to either side. Tap on the on
Web site icon to the left of the Awesome Bar to open the Site
Menu and manage your relationship with the current web page.

What is the Awesome Screen?

The Awesome Screen pops up just by tapping on the location bar.
It instantly brings up a smart list of your favourite history
items and bookmarks and lets you easily select a search engine
for your desired search. You can also customize your search
engine list for maximum efficiency.

How do I zoom in and out?

For Android phones, pinch to zoom in and out, or double-tap.
For the Nokia N900, you can use the volume button on the top
of your phone, or double tap the screen with your finger to
zoom in and out. Also, on the Nokia N900, Ctrl-up and
Ctrl-down arrows will zoom in and out.

How do I bookmark a web page?

Go to the site you wish to bookmark. Touch the bookmark “star” button on the right side of your display.

How do I open a new tab?

Touch the new tab "plus" button on the left side of your display screen to open a new tab. Tabs appear as thumbnails so you can easily see which page you’d like to select.

What are Firefox Add-ons and how can I get them on my mobile device?

Add-ons are small
pieces of software that let you add or change the look or
functionality of Firefox. Install add-ons directly to your
Firefox by swiping to the left and tapping on the browser tools
"gear" button on the bottom right-hand side of your screen, then
choosing the add-ons “puzzle piece” button to discover and
install the add-ons that are most useful to you.

How can I share my Firefox bookmarks, history, tabs, and passwords between my desktop and my mobile?

Firefox Sync is a built-in feature of Firefox that lets you
synchronize your desktop and mobile data. To use this
feature, you must first install Firefox for the desktop (version 4 or higher). Then go to Tools, Set Up Sync and follow the prompts to create a Sync Account. Once you have an account on your desktop, go to Firefox on your mobile phone, tap on Browser Tools button. Scroll down the Preferences pane and tap Connect under the Sync section. A one-time code will appear. Go back to your Sync account info, select “Add Device” and enter the code from your phone.
Learn more about setting up Firefox Sync on your mobile.

Do I need to setup Firefox Sync to use Firefox on my phone?

No. Although we think Firefox Sync is highly useful, it is
feature that you can choose to use or not. The Awesome Screen
will start to get to know you and take you to your favorite
parts of the Web with minimal typing, even without Firefox
Sync.

What are the trade-offs to using Firefox Sync in Firefox?

Although we think Firefox Sync is highly useful, it is still in its experimental phase. Those who use Firefox Sync and who have large desktop profiles, may detect performance issues on their mobile. We are working to resolve this in future releases.

What is Location-Aware Browsing? Is Firefox tracking where I am?

Location-Aware Browsing saves you time by allowing websites
to ask you where you are. If you choose to share your
location with a website, it can use that information to
find nearby points of interest and return additional,
useful data like maps of your area. It’s all optional –
Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission.
Learn more about Location-Aware Browsing.

Developer Questions

Will a Firefox add-on I built for the PC work on mobile? If not, do I need to change it?

Although Firefox for the desktop and mobile are built on the
same technology platform, there are differences that will
require developers to make changes to their add-ons in order
to be compatible with Firefox for mobile.
Visit the Mobile
Developer Network
and Electrolysis
and Add-ons wiki to learn more.

What browser engine does Firefox use?

The desktop and mobile versions of Firefox both use the Gecko rendering engine.
The mobile version of Firefox uses Gecko version 5,
which is the best performing browser engine Mozilla has ever
released and includes exciting features such as radically improved JavaScript performance,
geolocation support, worker threads, and much more.

What JavaScript engine does Firefox use?

Firefox includes the new “JaegerMonkey”
JavaScript engine, an advanced JIT (“just in time”) compiler using tracing technology.
The JaegerMonkey engine makes Web applications faster by compiling code as you execute it,
allowing many types of CPU-intensive applications to run at near-native speed.

HTML 5 is the next major revision of HTML.
The HTML 5 specification is ongoing,
but there are several HTML 5 and related features
that will enable Web developers to create more innovative
websites and applications. Firefox includes important features like
Location-Aware browsing,
the <canvas>
and <svg> tags,
Web workers
and offline storage.

Does Firefox on my phone support plugins?

There is currently no plugin support in Firefox for Android, and plugins are disabled in Firefox for Nokia N900. On most Web pages that use the Adobe Flash plugin, the
performance of the plugin on Nokia N900 didn't meet our standards, and the
interactivity and performance of the entire Web page was
negatively impacted. This was especially felt on pages with
multiple instances of the plugin. Advanced users can enable
plugins in Firefox for Nokia N900 for experimentation and testing only.

How can I get involved?

If you’d like to learn more about ways you can get
involved in other mobile-related initiatives, check out our Get
Involved page. As always, your input is welcome.